Summer Games
The flagship festival. 1978–2010, six regions, thirty sports, six thousand athletes a year at peak.
Summer Games archive →Empire State Games
New York's amateur athletic festival — since 1978.
The Empire State Games are New York State’s Olympic-style amateur sports festival. Founded in 1978 at Syracuse University, the Games pioneered the state-level multi-sport movement that now exists in nearly every U.S. state.
At their peak, more than six thousand athletes a year qualified from six regional teams — Adirondack, Central, Hudson Valley, Long Island, New York City, and Western — to compete in some thirty sports.
Four formats have run under the Empire State Games name:
| Format | First held | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Summer Games | 1978 | Archive — discontinued 2010 |
| Winter Games | 1981 | Active — Lake Placid, every February |
| Games for the Physically Challenged | 1985 | Active — SUNY Brockport |
| Senior Games | 1988 | Active — Cortland |
This site is a reference for all four. The Summer Games section is an archival record of the original 1978–2010 competition; the Winter, Senior, and Physically Challenged sections cover the live editions that continue each year, with links to the organisations now running them.
Winter Games
Annually in Lake Placid since 1981. The community-run successor to the state programme. The 46th edition runs 5–8 February 2026.
Winter Games →Physically Challenged
Adapted sports for athletes aged 5–21. Held at SUNY Brockport every October. 16–17 October 2026.
Physically Challenged Games →Senior Games
Open to athletes 50 and older. Held annually in Cortland. June 2026.
Senior Games →Reference and archive
- A full history of the Games — origins, expansion, end of state funding, community revival.
- Champions list (1978–2012) — featured New York athletes who medalled at the Games.
- Summer host cities — every year, every host.
- Archive & primary sources — NY State Archives, press releases, the original site.